May There Be Love for These Two (Non-Explicit)
by TheHiddenPersona
Summary: Kazuma has some plans to take care of today before meeting up with Megumin, but his astonishing luck never seems to be good luck when he needs it. (Spoilers - Minor callbacks up to Light Novel 15) *Due to FanFiction's Guidelines, a passage has been removed. You can find the full story on my AO3 page: /users/TheHiddenPersona


I lay in bed staring up at the ceiling, sunlight pouring in from the window. I gave a small groan for forcing myself to get up this early, sitting up in bed and rubbing an eye before slapping my cheeks. Right, there was a reason for this, for waking up so early!

I forced myself to hop out of bed knowing that if I stayed much longer I'd lay here for a few more hours.

Not that that'd be an issue or anything.

With those lingering thoughts stuck in my head I quickly changed into my normal attire; freshly cleaned white shirt, pants and my signature green mantle. I slipped my boots on last, and with that I went downstairs to get a quick breakfast before heading out for the day.

I had for once woken up early enough that the breakfast the others made was still on the table, albeit ready to be brought to the kitchen to save for later. Megumin was the only one still present, the crazy explosion-loving girl calmly sipping her tea. It was her day to take care of the dishes after all.

Megumin perked up a little bit upon seeing me coming down for some breakfast, but also looked a bit confused. "Kazuma waking up before noon, do my eyes deceive me?"

She then smirked having thought she knew me better, "Or is the hikiNEET still just up from last night."

"Nope, I had a good night's sleep and am ready to take on the day ahead of me," I proudly proclaimed, earning another confused look as I sat down to begin eating breakfast.

"Are you feeling alright Kazuma? Did you come down with something? Kazuma wouldn't simply wake up early when there's nothing urgent to do that day."

I couldn't help but agree with Megumin, nodding to her before flashing a wide smile, "I'm turning over a new leaf, the Kazuma of yesterday is not the same as the Kazuma of today!" With a plate full of food I quickly began to eat, having promised to meet with someone today.

As I was eating all I heard was a loud 'pfft' coming from across the table. Seems my bluff was called, but the life of a NEET billionaire is just something I wouldn't give up.

Megumin poured herself some more tea and brought the cup back up to her lips, blowing softly on it as steam rose. It was quiet for a time save for the sound of her light sipping and the cutlery hitting the plate.

"Well Kazuma, if that's really true, then you wouldn't mind coming along for an early morning explosion. Aqua and Darkness already ate breakfast and left for the day."

Ah, I was wondering why it was just the two of us. I shook my head though, pushing my empty plate away and standing up, "Sorry Megumin, but I have something important to take care of myself, I'll take you in the afternoon though."

Megumin perked a brow up at my statement, before giving an exasperated sigh, "Very well, when I saw you up I was excited to share the effects of explosion magic in the morning. If you're all done eating though, then let me start cleaning up."

I stood up and nodding to her as she was finishing her tea, making my leave as quickly as I came. First before anything else today though, I had some business to take care of in Axel.

-

It was the transitional time between summer and autumn, the air still pleasantly warm with a certain crispness to it. Mornings weren't something I was practically fond of, but enjoying it once in a while wasn't too bad.

As I was musing to myself my feet steadily carried me into Axel proper and down the streets to a quite famous if failing shop. I looked around and saw more vendor stalls than usual lining the streets today.

This time last year I was barely surviving, living with a useless goddess in a stable every night so I didn't pay much attention to the ongoings of the city. There must have been a small festival, maybe heralding the end of summer and start of autumn.

The extra vendors might be quite helpful today though, a steady grin on my face as I finally got to Wiz's shop. I didn't have any business to do with Wiz or Vanir, but I did set this up as a meeting point with a certain someone.

I was sure they'd be here, they never arrive late when meeting, but I couldn't see her anywhere around the shop.

"Yunyun, hey Yunyun, you here?"

"Ah, K-Kazuma, I'm here! I was just n-nervous is all..!"

Yup, that was Yunyun, the Crimson Demon clan member who I enlisted the help of today. For whatever reason she always hid from sight at first, the meek girl only stepping out from an alley after my call. She was probably the only one I could rely on today.

"No need to be nervous Yunyun, it's not like this is a date. We're just hanging out today and wandering the city."

I tried to calm her down, but it seemed to have the opposite effect as her face flushed and she poked two fingers together.

"R-right, not a date, just keeping K-Kazuma company all day, not a date!"

I shook my head before walking over to Yunyun and wrapping an arm around her shoulders. I looked around quickly before starting to confide in her even as she got more fidgety from the proximity.

"Look, hanging out with friends is just something normal. Good friends also help friends, and you're my friend right Yunyun? Of course you are. So, while we're hanging out today, I need help with picking out something that Megumin would like, alright?"

I broke contact with her after, taking a step back as Yunyun perked up. It was always quite easy to get this girl to do what you wanted, so long as you called her a friend. I briefly wondered if all Crimson Demon clan members share this trait of having one weakness that'll make them want to do anything, like Megumin and explosions.

While I was thinking Yunyun stood up straight and looked at me with a determined look, a clenched hand held up before her. "Yes, I'll help my f-friend Kazuma out. Leave the gift to me, I know my rival better than anyone else!"

Really, she was too easy.

"Alright, then let's start wandering. There's a bunch of vendors in town today, so I'm sure something good will pop up."

I swiftly turned on my heel, starting to head further into town now with Yunyun following, a smile on my face.

My plan was surefire.

-

I sat dejectedly in a seat setup on the outdoor patio of a restaurant, looking down. Why had I raised that flag for myself. Now there was practically no chance to find something just right.

Yunyun looked a little nervous too as she sat across from me, "K-Kazuma, I'm really sorry I haven't been a good helper… but there's still a few more vendors in town we haven't gone to!"

She was trying to cheer me up. She probably felt like a terrible friend as we've had no luck whatsoever in finding a gift that would be just right for Megumin. We've spent quite a few hours looking so far as well, noon having passed a while back.

I decided to take a break from searching to get some lunch, and that's where we now found ourselves, at a restaurant I've given a solid rating of three stars in the past.

Maybe I should've just had Yunyun teleport with me to the capital and look there, or even put in a commission for something that Megumin would like for sure. I wasn't about to let this day go to waste however.

The server brought out our meals as I was deep in thought, finally pulling me out of my mental funk as I sat up and got ready to eat.

"Ah Yunyun, it's fine, it's fine. I'm sure we'll find something good, I seem to always pull through right in the end after all!"

She seemed more at ease with that comment, giving me another determined look like when we started. "Right, there's no need to lose hope over this. I'm sure they'll be something my rival will really like!"

Having raised our spirits, the two of us started to dig in to our meals. As we were eating our meals I got a sudden tingling that was similar to my Enemy Detection, but not quite. This led me to start looking around, but I couldn't spot anything out of the ordinary.

Or at least, I couldn't at first. As I kept gazing around I realized there were a lot more couples than normal walking through the street and also sitting at the tables around us.

Huh, maybe I should figure out this festival later. For now though I still had my goal in sight. Seeing all these couples together, I got the idea to inspect some of the women around us.

Perhaps I was staring a bit too intently as some of them started looking uncomfortable and the patio area soon began thinning out.

Oh well, my intelligence gathering was somewhat successful as I looked back to Yunyun with a smile. "Yunyun! How about we look through an accessory shop next."

She tilted her head to the side after hearing me, humming in thought. "Well… Megumin never really was big on anything girly back home. Then again, maybe that was because of her family. She has been letting her hair grow out a bit longer recently now that I think about it. She might have had a change of heart."

Had she? I thought back on it, but I felt she still had rather short hair. Or maybe that's because she's always around someone like Darkness all the time so I didn't notice the difference.

"I see, either way though, my gut feeling is telling me to try there next! Who knows, maybe they'll have something to enhance her explosions, there's no way she wouldn't like that."

My gut definitely wasn't feeling that way because I was at the end of my rope otherwise.

-

We had finished up our lunch and proceeded to wander down the busy streets towards an accessory shop near the center of town. We stopped to look over the stalls on the way over, but just like before we found nothing. The entire time I couldn't shake that uneasy feeling I had since lunch, but this was Axel, who's public safety is regarded as the best in the country.

I left that feeling to gnaw at me while heading into the shop with Yunyun.

The shop wasn't small, having plenty of room to stand normally, but it seems like there were a lot of people in here, more than I would expect. I thought it a bit strange but decided to ignore it and began to look over the selection of accessories, drifting over to where the magic accessories are.

The price point of these probably kept most of the others away, and I felt a couple gazes wash over me as I seriously considered the items on sale. Most of the stock would find trouble being sold in Axel, but being the billionaire adventurer, it was no worry to me.

Yunyun stayed right beside me as she helped me look, her face red as she did so. Well, she was always nervous around others, even once she became friends with them. She was probably a bit overwhelmed to be in such a packed store.

Tags hung from all the accessories, and first I would find ones that were something I think Megumin would like, then check the actual effect of the magic imbuement. Unfortunately, with how niche Megumin's magic and role were, there weren't many options that fit both.

I looked over various rings, but they all seemed to be defensive buffs. I looked over various necklaces, but nothing stood out as something Megumin would like wearing, although one had the effect of mana regeneration.

I'll keep that one in mind.

I even looked over a selection of masks that the shop had, but whenever I looked them over I felt that she'd prefer the Vanir mask that I used when I'm out with Chris.

I was getting worried by now, but noticed Yunyun had spotted something and was intently looking over it. I moved back over to her side, looking at what she saw.

A rather simple set of earrings.

It was a set of stud earrings, circular rubies set back into simple gold, four prongs holding the stone in place.

They weren't magical, they weren't even that expensive. I would've completely overlooked them if it wasn't for Yunyun. I placed my hand on her shoulder, a grin on my face.

"Ah Yunyun, I knew it was a good idea to bring you along. Now that I think about it, Megumin does prefer simpler things, right? These will go well with her outfit too."

I was confident this was a winner, and despite all the running around town we did today, it would be worth it. I quickly made my purchase even as Yunyun looked a bit dejected, twiddling her thumbs idly. Maybe I should treat her out to something on a different day.

"Alright Yunyun, mission successful, thank you for the help. Now, I gotta get home." I took the small complimentary box and put it in my pocket, a wide grin on my face as we headed out. Yunyun let out a small reply but it was lost to the noise of the crowd.

I exited the building with Yunyun, the sun still fairly high in the sky, plenty of time to get home. However, upon exiting the shop, my Enemy Detection went off for a brief moment, right beside me.

I was a bit shocked and turned around, stumbling back into Yunyun a bit. I gulped hard at what I saw.

Megumin.

"H-hey, Megumin, I was just coming home to take you out for our daily explosion!" I tried to make my voice sound normal, but the bright glowing crimson glare that Megumin was giving me made my voice weak.

Yunyun let out a sharp yelp herself, looking back and forth between myself and Megumin. "A-ah, Kazuma, thank you for the d-day out together, but I just remembered I need to g-go help Vanir!"

With that she quickly escaped into the crowd, the opposite direction of Wiz's shop. Why is it that everyone always says something that incriminates me at the worst times, even if true!

Megumin didn't look too amused, her arms crossed, "Something important to take care of? Or someone." Her eyes were still glowing as she spoke, but she shut them as she continued.

"I suppose I shouldn't expect anything else from Scumuza."

"M-Megumin, I will admit I spent the day out with Yunyun, but we were just hanging out as friends, it wasn't a date or anything like that," I tried to defend myself, waving my hands in front of me.

Megumin just kept her arms crossed, and I could see her knuckles turning a bit white around her staff. With her eyes shut she took a deep breath in before letting it out, looking back up to me, eyes no longer glowing bright.

"I thought you agreed to take me out for an explosion in the afternoon. By the time we get to the lakeside twilight will be falling you know."

On one hand, I'm glad that Megumin is dropping the topic for now, but on the other it hurts knowing I disappointed her again. My inner conflict must've been showing on my face, because Megumin let out another sigh with a shake of her head.

"I've already come to accept that this is a part of you Kazuma, so instead of dwelling on it, let's just have a good time together now."

She flashed me a smile after that, and all I could do was stupidly nod. "Megumin, thank you!" I couldn't help the feeling of elation filling me as Megumin once again let something be swept under the rug, even despite the fact that this time I was truly innocent.

Megumin closed the distance between us after that, taking my right hand with her left, sliding her fingers between mine.

My face flushed a bit at that, looking down to Megumin and seeing her mischievous smile. Right, she wasn't completely over it. She was punishing me in her own way, embarrassing me as she started to walk through the busy streets while dragging me along.

I was fully aware of some familiar faces spotting us in the crowd, seeing me holding hands with Megumin. I averted my gaze each time, at first following a step behind Megumin but soon matching her pace.

"H-hey Megumin… would you mind letting go of my hand, at least until we're out of the city?" It was worth a shot to ask, but in response I just felt her grip tighten a bit.

"No, you spent all day out with Yunyun, so this is what you get. I'm sure the guild hall won't have that many rumors after today. Besides, we don't want to get split up in this crowd, right?"

I dejectedly hung my head after her response, "Y-yeah, right."

It felt like one of the longest walks out of the city that I've taken.

-

Megumin kept her grip on my hand the entire time we walked to the lake, but after we had left the city walls behind I didn't mind one bit. I even tightened my own grip after that. She relaxed hers in response and by the time we reached the lakeside we even swung our hands a little extra, enjoying each other's company wordlessly.

It had been a fair while since we moved our preferred explosion spot to this lakeside. Now that I think back to it, the reason we first came out here was to go on a date with each other, but Aqua ended up tagging along and turned it into a family picnic.

I paused for a second at that thought which tugged Megumin back. It was just the two of us now, and while we go out for explosions together daily, this could very well turn into another date. A real date.

Megumin was looking back at me with a questioning look on her face, "Everything okay Kazuma? Need to go to the bathroom or something?"

I shook my head and let us continue to the grassy hill near the shore, our usual spot. "No no, I'm fine. It's just I was thinking, why don't we make tonight into… into a date night? We can cook up the fish that get wiped from your explosion, have a little dinner by a campfire and stargaze. It'll get a little cold out, but we'll have the fire…" I wanted to add a bit more, but I didn't want to ruin Megumin's mood.

Megumin blushed a bit at the sudden development, today going from simply letting off her magic to now being asked to go on a date. She looked back up at me though, a smile on her lips with a faint glow to her eyes. "I do suppose our last date wasn't much of one, and you know I do love to moonwatch. So yes, let's… have another d-date."

She started off rather strong, but the blush grew a bit redder towards the end, the crazy explosion-loving archwizard put a bit off balance from the sudden idea.

I grinned as she accepted, mentally fist pumping in success before starting to look around for suitable materials for a fire. Megumin started to help too, intent to have my full attention for the explosion to come so I can properly rate it.

-

"-EXPLOOOSION!"

With her chant finished, a bolt of pure destructive magical energy left her staff and became another star in the sky for a moment before unleashing itself. The shockwave quickly hit us, myself sat on the hill to watch while Megumin had already fallen beside me. She gave her usual post-explosion smile as she watched the remnants of her magic before turning to me.

I had my chin resting in my hand as I gauged the explosion. "Today's explosion was rather large, a lot more raw energy invoked. It looks like you perfectly placed it right above the center of the lake, producing large waves. Along with that, the shockwave had it's practical effects as well, causing the fish to float up and get carried in the wave. I give today's explosion… ninety-seven points!"

I gave her a quick thumbs up as I watched her elated expression, this crazy explosion lover always putting her all into her magic to get high marks from this simple explosion sommelier. I placed my hand over hers as she lay limply beside me, using Drain Touch to give her back enough mana and stamina to let her move about on her own again.

Despite me always doing so, more days than not she still insists on having me carry her back home, which I'm happy to oblige.

Megumin sat back up, setting her staff down beside herself as peace returned to the environment. The sounds of the night began to take over again along with the crackling of our fire.

"Kazuma, I know I've asked before, but surely you have some intrigue in following the path of explosions. Will you ever consider letting me teach you so you can join me on this path?"

She was smiling over at me, her knees close to her chest as she held her legs, resting her cheek atop her knees to look over at me. I had to say, I almost forgot to reply to her as the firelight washed over her form.

"Megumin, you should know by now that while I enjoy watching your explosions, there's no way I'd be able to get that many skill points, nor do I have the mana supplies for it. Besides, then I wouldn't have to rely on your untoppable firepower, which has laid waste to countless Demon King Generals and high-bounty targets."

I decided to throw some theatrics into the mix as I replied to her, before breaking my gaze from her form and looking back out over the darkening lake.

"Okay, you have good points Kazuma. I'll keep going down this path for both of us then, so that we can enjoy the awe-inspiring power of explosion together."

I nodded, watching the shoreline as some fish had been washed ashore. "That's my Megumin, never lose that burning ambition. They'll write many stories about all the accomplishments you've achieved with the strongest of all magic."

I stood up after making my reply, giving a quick stretch before heading down to the shore to get us a little dinner.

-

The crackling of the fire was softer now as the two of us laid on our backs, gazing up at the moon and stars together. We had enjoyed our small dinner while passing some small talk back and forth, leaving the fire without new fuel and letting it slowly burn out instead.

I had Megumin's hand in mine, and now that there was no distractions, I couldn't help but take in just how soft and small her hand was compared to mine. My heart felt strange in my chest as we lay there, not doing anything, not saying anything, yet despite that it felt much more intimate than anything else we've done. Well, just about.

My thumb moved on it's own, beginning to slowly rub over the top of her hand, back and forth. I don't know why I was doing it, but it just felt right. I had never done things like this with a girl, being a NEET and all. The succubi dreams were my only preparation. Those didn't help at all though, now that I was fully in the moment with a girl who I might just truly love.

With how quiet it was I started to listen to her soft breathing, my heart beating faster despite nothing changing. I was starting to get nervous, a faint blush resting on my cheeks. I've done far more lewd things than this and never bat an eye, but just basking in the moment with Megumin felt far more intense.

I couldn't help but slowly start to turn my head to look over at Megumin rather than the sky.

I froze up as I laid my eyes upon her.

Her glowing crimson eyes staring back into my own, her face flush as well.

I held her gaze for what felt like minutes, the seconds rolling by with only the noises of the night and soft crackling from the fire interrupting us.

Eventually though, I broke the silence.

"Megumin, I really wasn't on a date with Yunyun today, I know it seems like something I might do, but it's true. S-she was really just helping me out with something, and you know she wants friends more than anything, so I spent longer than I originally intended with her. I got a bad feeling around when we had a lunch together, and that feeling lasted until you came. I take it you spotted us then and followed? I know we looked from stall to stall with lots of interest, but I never had any intention of getting her a gift."

I was messing up and I knew it with every word I spoke, but it had been weighing a bit heavily on my conscious, more than I felt it should. Megumin however quietly watched as I spewed nonsense, her eyes losing that bright intensity and her smile shrinking.

I gulped, wanting to just look away but being unable to. My thumb had since stopped moving, hand now just limply holding hers.

"Kazuma… you always have to ruin the mood don't you?"

She sighed once again today, shutting her eyes for a few seconds as I laid there in worry. Her smile slowly came back as she looked at me, "I had already forgiven you, we could've just enjoyed our date together. You're so unpredictable… and you know I love that about you. You're bashful when it comes to an actual relationship, but otherwise you have overwhelming bravado to do what you please to satisfy your own lewd desires."

She rolled over, closer to me and rested her head on my shoulder, pulling her hand away from mine to start gently hugging my side. Even as I was about to hyperventilate my arm instinctively moved under her small frame and to her back, holding her close.

I was sure she could hear how hard my heart was pounding by now, especially as she rest her head on me.

"Kazuma, I know you. I know you're not brash enough yourself to go through with other girls while I'm around. When I told you I liked and loved you in the past, I was talking about you, completely. Your good quirks, along with any of the bad."

She tilted her head up to look me in the eyes again, making it impossible for me to look away. "However, that doesn't mean I don't get hurt when you do things like this, intentionally or not. When I saw you with Yunyun, casually eating lunch when we already should've set out for our routine, I felt… I felt very jealous. Whatever your reason for having gone out with her though, it doesn't matter anymore. I have you here with me now."

I didn't even know how to reply to any of that, only able to stare back at her while I collected my thoughts.

"Megumin… I don't want to hurt you, maybe make you a little jealous from time to time, but never anything too serious…"

Lame. I was so lame. I couldn't come up with anything better than that after she just poured her thoughts out about me and reaffirmed her feelings. I grit my teeth and shut my eyes tight, dissatisfied with my own response. I gulped again, trying to think of the best way to solve this situation when I felt Megumin's body shift up a bit.

I opened my eyes back up, staring directly into her glowing crimson ones, taking a deep breath to calm my nerves somewhat. She looked so expectant, so the very first thing that popped into my head came out.

"Megumin, I seriously think I love you."

As though my body wasn't my own anymore, I started to lean in, wanting to seal my pledge with a kiss.

However, despite my high luck, I find myself cursed.

"Kazuma! Megumin! I know you're here, there's only one path back to town and one wizard crazy enough to cast explosion at this hour!"

Aqua, my useless goddess, once more ruthlessly killing the mood. I was going to strangle her. Megumin sat up quickly after hearing Aqua, blushing madly which matched my own cheeks. I got up as well, murder in my eyes as I stood and made a beeline towards Aqua, hearing faint laughter from behind.

-

My cheek still hurt from where Aqua landed a God Blow on me, the three of us all returning to the mansion together. Aqua was as peppy as ever, wanting me to praise her for how she cared about us enough to come find us.

Meanwhile, Megumin and I were both dejectedly followed her back to the mansion, the wind in our sails gone. The trip itself though was uneventful at least, and we all began our nightly routines once back home. Darkness was still gone, most likely spending the night at her family's estate. Aqua had said she already used the bath before coming to find us, and thus it was just Megumin and I that needed one.

As much as I wanted to join her, I didn't. Instead, I started drinking with Aqua. Or rather, I was getting her completely soused so she'll sleep soundly through the night, while barely touching my own drink.

Still, to drink this goddess of party tricks under the table, I had to get a bit tipsy myself. Megumin later came by to tell me the bath was open now and wished us all a good night, heading up stairs after holding my gaze a bit longer than normal.

I sighed, getting up and going through my own nightly routine, leaving Aqua passed out on the sofa.

As I was stripping down to enter the bath, I realized there was something still in my pocket. I wanted to yell at having forgotten to give it to Megumin, this gift the source of my problems today.

I reassured myself that I'd just have to give it to her tomorrow, my body feeling much heavier as I entered the bath.

-

I was staring up at the ceiling of my bedroom, unable to fall asleep tonight.

I kept looking over to my bedside table where the little problem box was resting, only to stare back up at the ceiling and think about everything the two of us just shared out by the lake tonight.

I open and closed my right hand beneath the covers a few times, wanting to feel the soft warmth of Megumin's hand again.

I suddenly sat upright in bed with a quick yell of frustration. I hopped out of bed quickly after, dressed in the comfiest clothes I had, the tracksuit I had brought with me into this world. I grabbed the box from the table and went out, knowing Aqua would be passed out still. I was just hoping that Megumin was still awake.

My hope was answered as I walked down the hallway, spotting Megumin wearing her pink pyjama top and bottoms. I couldn't help but grin as I spotted her.

"Oi, Megumin, couldn't sleep either because you wanted to finish what we started?" I chuckled a bit after saying that, tucking the gift back into my pocket for now.

"Oh, Kazuma? No, I just needed to use the bathroom."

Those words hurt, the heavy weight returning to my body as my head tilted down. A certain noise reached my ears as I looked down however.

Giggling.

I quickly looked up at that, giving a dumbfounded expression to her. She was wicked, toying with my emotions that deeply. Well I'd show her, an eye for an eye after all!

She then walked up the remainder of the distance between us, hands behind her back as she got right in front of me, a mischievous grin on her face and her eyes starting to glow faintly once more.

"Didn't I tell you before, Crimson Demons don't go to the bathroom Kazuma."

This girl. This girl is a wicked girl.

I gave a small groan at having fallen for her tricks, before blinking and looking back down at her. "Wait, so, you were just now coming to my room right?"

Megumin simply rolled her eyes, "Is that not obvious?"

I decided not to reply anymore, just taking hold of her hand and leading her back to my room. "I made sure Aqua was out of it before I took my bath, we shouldn't have any interruptions tonight."

I don't know why I set that flag for myself again.

"Oh, what will there be to interrupt? I just came to talk with you Kazuma."

We had made it to my bedroom door when she said that, the door slowly creaking open as I let go of the handle before turning around to see her with a much wider grin.

"Megumin, have mercy on me…"

She just laughed a bit to herself, freeing her hand from mine and heading over to my bed and sitting down. I quickly shut the door after entering myself, heading over to the lamp on my bedside table first.

I lit it using Tinder, the room lighting up now so we both can see clearly. I sat down next to Megumin, but now after what happened earlier today I couldn't meet her gaze.

I decided to finally finish what I started this morning so long ago, reaching into my pocket and holding the gift box in my hand. "Um, Megumin, I know I shouldn't bring this up again, but I completely forgot at the lakeside. I was looking for something I… Well, something I thought you m-might like. That's why I had Yunyun with me today…"

I still couldn't look over at her, but I took the box from my pocket and held it out for her. It took a few seconds, but I felt the weight of the box disappear. I heard her open it, yet still I looked away.

She didn't give any reaction for a while, my face getting hotter the longer nothing happened, ice-cold sweat starting to soak my back. Did she like it? Hate it? I needed to know, but I was just too embarrassed to look at her. This was the first time I really gifted a girl something, something that involved my feelings for them at least.

Finally Megumin spoke up, her voice strained just a bit.

"Today's gift was rather heartfelt, a lot of thought put into it. It looks like you spent the entire day to find something you thought I would perfectly love, keeping in mind the Crimson Demon clan's natural affinity for red and a hint of gold. Along with that, you tried finding the best moment to unveil it to me. I give today's gift… Seventy-five points."

I couldn't, or rather didn't, believe my ears at first, and as she continued on I finally worked up the courage to look over at her. Her brightly burning eyes also had a bit of a watery look to them, Megumin showing off one of the biggest and most joyous smiles I've yet seen on her. But…

"Wait, that sounded like a nearly perfect gift, only seventy-five points?"

I must've looked a bit dumb as I looked over to her, Megumin starting to laugh hard. I was completely at a lose for why she was laughing.

Finally Megumin calmed herself down, moving one hand up to her head and pushing her short hair back to display her ear. "I had to take twenty points off because I don't have pierced ears."

I froze after that, before clutching my head between my arms as I gave a frustrated yell, the thought not even crossing my mind when I picked it.

Megumin just kept laughing beside me, shutting the box and leaning over in front of me to set it down on the bedside table. I was still squirming around in frustration when I suddenly felt a hug around me.

I slowly moved my arms back down, a hand moving to her back as she looked up at me. "It's not hard to get your ears pierced you know. Thank you, Kazuma."

I felt so elated after that comment, quickly hugging her back. I tilted my head down over hers, my heart beating hard again as each breath let me inhale her sweet scent.

One of my hands slowly moved up from her back to clutch the back of her head, letting my fingers run through her hair as we held each other close.

All good things must come to an end however, and Megumin slowly pulled back and sat right beside me, leaning against me. "You know, this is the first real gift anyone's ever given me."

She tilted her head back up to fix her eyes on mine again, giving a small sigh and a shake of her head. "Although, I would've preferred going out with you alone. Wouldn't that have made it very simple to get something I like?"

I just let out a little groan in response, having started the day thinking I was doing something completely romantic only to have it backfire. Still, it seems the gift itself was something she cherished.

We sat there together for a little, enjoying each other's presence like before, but this time I had to take the initiative. This was the perfect moment, the perfect night.

I mentally prepped myself, face flushed red and arms feeling weak. I went for it though, not giving myself any room to back out.

I leaned down and pressed my lips against hers, Megumin flinching a bit in surprise but quickly pressing back. We held it, turning to face each other a bit more as I took her first kiss. In the back of my mind I regretted that Darkness had stolen my own first kiss, but there was nothing to be done for that now. This at least was the first I consented to.

I felt her thin arms wrapped around me tighten a bit, Megumin pulling herself closer so we were pressed up against each other.

We had to break apart sometime though, both of us panting slightly for fresh air. Even with the kiss broken we kept our embrace on each other.

I looked over her petite form as we held each other, my heart pounding harder and harder as I felt her body heat through our clothes.

"At first, I wasn't upset that Darkness took my first kiss… but now I am," I said out loud what I had been thinking.

Megumin blushed a bit brighter before resting her head on my shoulder, mumbling something I couldn't quite catch.

"What was that Megumin? I didn't kill the mood again did I…"

I was nervous, so nervous, I didn't know what to do or what was to come. Hell, it could've simply ended here. That's when she spoke up though.

"W-well… there's still something we could… gift each other," she said, getting quieter and more embarrassed as she went, not lifting her head.

It took me some time to fully process what she said, but with her other various comments in the past… How she wouldn't mind so long as I took responsibility… How the last time she was in bed with me, she told me she'd lend me a hand…

"M-Megumin… you mean like, becoming adults t-together, right? Like, tonight?"

I could practically feel her cheeks getting hotter. "Don't make me spell it out."

That was all she said. That was definitely not a no.

"Then… Let me turn off the lamp. Also, I know how these things go, as soon as we even try to attempt it, someone will come bursting in the door. I'll cast freeze over it."

Megumin nodded against me, moving away to sit on the bed and watching me, her eyes glowing with an intensity I've rarely seen. I'm glad I'm used to those crimson eyes, I know most others get scared at the sight of them.

I stood up, my legs feeling a bit wobbly. I pushed myself to do what I said though, snuffing the lamp and then walking over to the door, pouring a lot of mana into my casting of Freeze to prevent it from opening.

Despite it being quite dark in the room with the curtains over the windows, I could see everything fine, if in shades of grey. The only thing that didn't share the same black and white were the strongly glowing eyes of my companion, party member, and now… lover? I don't know if that's what we'd consider each other even with how tonight played out, but that was a problem for another time.

I walked back over to Megumin, staying standing, "So… I guess we should start stripping?"

I was so meek. A NEET like me was as far out of his element as could be in this situation.

Megumin looked up to where my face was, fidgeting a bit. Sure, we've done things like bathe together and sleep together, but this was a completely different ball game.

"Kazuma… Let's take this slow, let's go back to what we were doing before, okay?"

I nodded, even if she might not see it, and sat back down beside her. I pulled her in close for a hug again, keeping one arm wrapped behind her while my now free hand moved up to the side of her head. I gently brushed her hair back and over her ear before resting my palm against the back of her head.

"I'm… excited to see you wearing my gift later, Megumin."

"Something coming out of your mouth that doesn't kill the mood? You're already improving Kazuma," she replied, but there was definitely a nervous undertone to her voice. This was after all, going to be both of our first times.

We both slowly moved in, eyes shut as we pressed our lips together in another kiss. I was at a loss as to what to do with the kiss, or even if I had to do anything. Eventually though I started to part my lips a bit more and then give a gentle pull on one of her lips.

I was flying blind here, just praying to Eris above I'd luck out like usual and not ruin this all somehow.

It seemed to be working though, as soon Megumin was returning the favor, using her soft and thin lips to tug at mine quickly in response. We stayed like this for a while, breaking away only enough to catch our breath and then returning to it, neither one of us wanting to be away from the other for long.

My hand on her back moved to her side, starting to slowly slide up and down firmly while my other hand still rested against her head. My fingers ran through her smooth and short hair, letting her still pull away for a breath when she needed to, but holding her closer when we were deep in a kiss.

Her hands were both on my back, reaching up towards my shoulder blades as we both got further into it. I could faintly feel her scratching over my back through the tracksuit I had on.

I don't know how long we stayed like that together. The only noise in the room was the sound of our lips pressing against each other along with our short and quick gasps for air.

Megumin eventually pulled back though, her eyes brightly burning in the darkness around her. "K-Kazuma…"

She didn't say anything other than that, but I understood what she wanted for both of us to do.

I woke up, stark nude and over my covers, alone. As my foggy memories came back to me after sleeping, I played back the events of yesterday over and over again in my head.

I wondered what this all meant, but that was something that I'd deal with when it comes to pass. Eventually though, I got up and out of bed, quickly tossing on my tracksuit to make a run down to the bath to freshen up after last night.

As I descended the stairs from the second floor I could hear some talking coming from the living room. I still wanted to take a bath sooner rather than later, however my curiosity won out. I poked my head into the room to see what was going on.

At first I was confused, seeing Megumin sitting down and Aqua standing by her with a wine cork in one hand and a needle in the other. As I watched I realized what was going on as Megumin spotted me, giving me a slightly bashful smile and small wave, a small gift box in her other hand.

I realized Aqua was piercing her ears.


End file.
